Open Letter to Progressive Jews: The ADL and AJC are not our allies

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

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The following open letter was shared with Mondoweiss.

Friday, Feb 17th, 2017

We have written this letter in the hope that we can discuss the issues raised below with others from Jewish social justice groups and communities. We hope you will consider them as relevant and worthy of discussion as we do.

We very much appreciate that this moment calls for a strong, broad, united front against the Trump administration’s agenda and actions and the vilification of immigrants, refugees, and Muslims, among many others. However, we question whether there are groups within our communities with which, in good conscience, we cannot and should not stand. We know similar questions have been asked in many different contexts over the years; we find it particularly salient at this moment.

Specifically, we refer to the February 12 rallies in support of refugees in which Jewish social justice groups cosponsored the action with, among others, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), two organizations that have toxic anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian policies. The rally, protesting the President’s “recent actions against refugees” (although, notably, the word “Muslim” is absent from the February 12 call to action), included these two groups among the most prominent national co-sponsors.

We can only begin to address this issue if we know about the ADL and AJC’s long history of Islamophobic and anti-Arab actions.

Here are some specifics:

During the many years in which the NYPD engaged in surveillance of Muslim communities, the ADL, despite its stated mission of protecting “civil rights for all,” was notably silent. Even after 2011 AP revelations made public the NYPD surveillance operations, the ADL gave an award to the commanding officer of the NYPD Intelligence Division that had implemented the discriminatory surveillance program. This is perhaps not surprising, given that the ADL has its ownhistory of “illegal spying against Arab-American and other civil rights groups,” goingback to the 1950s, including sharing information about these groups with the FBI. They also labeled Muslim community groups as “terrorist sympathizers” and tried to exclude them from the public sphere.

The AJC has helped normalize Islamophobia by lauding anti-Muslim books on the airwaves written by such pillars of the Islamophobia network in America as Steve Emerson, author of Jihad in America, who has claimed that Islam “sanctions genocide, planned genocide, as part of its religious doctrine”; and Daniel Pipes, author of Militant Islam Reaches America, who believes that “militant Islam” is “infiltrating America” and supports student monitoring of professors for their views on Israel and Palestine.

The AJC has also supported legislation like the Patriot Act that targeted and disproportionately criminalized those in Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities; backed the 2011 anti-Muslim congressional hearings led by Representative Peter King that perniciously equated Islam and terrorism; and failed to oppose white nationalist and key presidential advisor Stephen Bannon.

The ADL and AJC backed the appointment by President George W. Bush of Daniel Pipes to the board of the United State Institute for Peace.

Both the ADL and AJC routinely smear and try to silencegroups speaking out for justice in Palestine/Israel and students doing pro-Palestine organizing at their college campuses.

Both the ADL and AJC have taken money from funders of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate: for example, $550,000 to the ADL from the Sheldon AdelsonFoundation (2007-2013), which funds groups like Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the Endowment for Middle East Truth (MEET), and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA); and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the AJC from several of the main funders of the Islamophobia-Israel network in America.

Neither the ADL nor the AJC has ever publicly renounced or apologized for these actions or disassociated themselves from these virulently Islamophobic individuals, groups and funders.

We understand that the ADL and AJC, along with the majority of Jewish groups, support the welcoming of refugees and that the ADL also articulates positive positions on issues such as hate crimes and (for the mostpart) building local mosques. ADL has also spoken out and worked with a number of communities against bigotry. But the issues we are raising are not about co-sponsoring an event with an organization that has some good views as well as some that may be inconsistent with a more progressive agenda, but, rather, co-sponsoring with organizations that have long histories of demonizing and targeting Muslims, Palestinians, and other Arabs.

Co-sponsoring an event and signing statements with such organizations—ones that foment the very Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism we are committed to challenging—can serve to legitimize the ADL and AJC’s anti-Muslim, anti-Palestine history and policies and, in effect, obscure (or even unintentionally promote) their bigoted agenda.

This kind of co-sponsorship ends up hurting both the struggle against Islamophobia and those being targeted. The targets of ADL and AJC policies are not the Jews who cosponsor these events. The targets are Muslims and Palestinians and other Arabs. Members of Muslim social justice communities have articulated strong concerns about Muslim organizations joining forces with groups like the AJC and ADL that promote Islamophobia and are anti-Palestinian. As partners in this work, we believe those of us in Jewish social justice groups should be mindful of the impact of our choices on those with whom we stand in solidarity. (If an organization promoted anti-Semitism in the ways that the ADL and AJC promote anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian policies, the co-sponsors of the February 12 action would certainly—and correctly—be uncomfortable sponsoring an event with them.)

Some may roll their eyes and say that we are insisting on “political purity” or that we are being politically “rigid” or “divisive” at the wrong time. But we are raising these issues because we—like so many others—don’t want to be accomplices to injustice or to inadvertently perpetuate the Islamophobia we oppose. We also know that, because the current political moment requires those of us who are not being targeted daily to remain constantly vigilant, we must ask difficult questions and challenge ourselves critically.

We are deeply committed to building with new people and new communities. But, for us, this does not automatically translate into supporting a “big tent” with Jewish organizations actively promoting Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian positions. We know that all of us want to be certain that we do our work as Jews in this struggle as ethical, principled partners genuinely standing in solidarity with Muslims, Palestinians, and all targeted communities.

Here is the action we refer to that took place on Sunday, February 12:

President Trump’s recent actions against refugees are an outrage and a betrayal of American and Jewish values.

Join HIAS, the refugee agency of the Jewish community, to demand that America’s doors are reopened to refugees fleeing violence and persecution. In the 1930’s, Jewish refugees were turned away from these shores in their greatest hour of need. Our community must stand up for refugees, and not allow history to repeat itself.

Join us for a powerful community action at Battery Park. Come raise up your voice to protect the Statue of Liberty and all that she stands for and recognize the many people whose lives are at risk if they are unable to find safety here in this country.

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15 Responses

Awesome! Zio-fascism is crumbling. I would like to remind everyone that top Nazi propagandists were radicalized under Weimar ‘blasphemy’ laws intended to protect the Jews from the blood libel. Laws intended to ‘protect’ the Jews from Muslims or ‘hate speech’ are just as dangerous, and Jews must use ‘civil disobedience’ if necessary to prevent them. We’ve learned from history – congrats all around!

Where does Addictionmyth say that? Why are you putting words in his/her mouth? This subject has come up in the past with links to the Flemming Rose interview which Citizen has again provided. The point that overly restrictive laws can have a negative impact is hardly beyond the pale. If you have a counter argument make it. No need to misrepresent what someone says in an attempt to discredit their opinion.

MOOSER- “You have made that charge several times. How about an example of that awful law, which radicalized previously egalitarian Nazis?”

Previously egalitarian Nazis? More misrepresentation from Mooser. You ask for an example? My, but you have a short memory! On December 2, 2016, Addictionmyth made a comment referencing these laws along with a link to the same interview which Citizen linked. I went into the article and quoted a long paragraph from the article. You commented on my comment: “Well, things, conditions, were just a tad different in Post WW1 and Pre WW2 Germany than they are in the US of 2016. But not so much that it’s worth arguing about.” (Mooser) http://mondoweiss.net/2016/12/legislation-rights/#comment-861644 And now you don’t remember any of this? Or don’t you care?

thats the tee shirt, right there..”hate speech” is what we do to Jews, it’s the Quran and the Constitution,

and its” trebles all round”, you drink, obviously

“radicalized” i mean shit is there one word that inspires ennui more than “radicalized”,

i have radicalized spaghetti with holy basil, why can’t i be radical what! I have to die for it or live in beige,

how can you think you are free when your political process can be openly bought and, is so severe, totalitarian, money is speech, a “neice” txted from Cairo to say “I fucking hate Fairuz” its a new world, young Arabs hate history.

just one little thing

Mr Weiss you put a comment i can’t find (very drunk and smoking heavily too, trumps one state thing i feel it) by that cummings poem

“the very least i could do dear boy”

an observation

“opting to resist means opting for denigration, suffering, loss, rejection, trouble and struggle, in my experience women teach it best, they keep a measure of control and sense of proportion, you going to suffer probably die, up to you”

If ADL or AJC or Hillel or “TheJewishPresidents” ™ wish to co-sponsor a SJP group on your campus, should you turn down their participation? Admittedly, this seems a bit unlikely to happen. But it appears that co-sponsoring does happen sometimes w.r.t. helping refugees.

It would be nice if one could cleanly and neatly distinguish Jewish groups as being either from Group A (ethical, decent, universal-human-rights-respecting) or from Group B (anti-Palestine and anti-universal-human-rights-respecting). If that were possible, one could cleanly refuse to have anything at all to do with the Group B folks.

Maybe what we need is a bit of that awful bitterness that used to flare up between Communists and Socialists. Draw bloody lines in the sand. And maybe Israel as now very nearly admitted apartheid state — with its enforced single-state-solution apartheid-style — will provide the opportunity to draw the line: Group A (anti-apartheid) and Group B (pro-apartheid).

This letter is called “Why People Hate the Radical Left.”. It’s self-righteous, slanderous, and obtuse. And of course, it’s published at Mondoweiss, a website that regularly traffics in anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. Maybe no one should work with their groups, instead of the other way around.

At the end of the day, “Progressive Jews” are totally worthless. What the world needs is people ready to support full justice for the Palestinian people, which necessarily means the destruction of Zionism. All kinds of humanity are welcome to help –including the exceptional Jews who aren’t joining to help the Zionists.

I know what you mean about the navel-gazing.
I have a left shoulder-blade that is a miracle of loveliness. People come miles to see it. My right elbow has a fascination that few can resist.
( It is on view Tuesdays and Fridays, on presentation of visiting card.)

I don’t post here much anymore but this one is about a mainstream group. The AJC is partnering with Muslim groups on the issues of:
a) Hate crimes
b) Immigration law
c) Workplace discrimination

That’s the extent of the offered partnership. They aren’t claiming to offer a partnership on a broader agenda of anti-Islamiaphobia and certainly not on anti-Palestinian policy. The AJC is a valuable ally on those 3 issues above to American Muslims. Of course for Muslim groups to partner with the AJC means legitimizing the AJC in areas where they disagree (particularly Israel/Palestine). So the authors aren’t wrong on the political impact of the partnership. Its a trade regarding priorities. Moreover it is a trade that American Muslims have to decide on not Jews way to the left of the AJC. The AJC isn’t offering a partnership to Rabbi Rosen and Anna Baltzer.

@talkback
“A regular claim by Zionists who can’t even define antisemitism, but need to fabricate it, because of Zionism’s inherent need for antisemitism”

Yup. “anti -Semitism” is the comfort dummy ( I think they are called “pacifiers” in America) which Zionist Jews suck on relentlessly to avoid confronting their reality viz everybody hates us and our wonderful little light unto the nations colony simply because they hate Jews not because we particular Jews have become in any way Racist or Fascist.(sob)

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